(This is the second draft of this post written from scratch. Something about the chart above is really throwing off WordPress and anytime I attempt to select more than one word, it scrolls straight down to the bottom. Therefore, to keep it simple and avoid a third attempt, all links are provided at the bottom of this post.)
Another fiscal year has come and gone and this one is extra special. As detailed in my personal blog, Broken Ruler Games is now an actual business. Licence and everything. Which means apologies must be made for any ruse or hand waving magician-ry of the past four years. Yet what made the goal of starting BRG remains and fuels the engine of this next step.
It meant creating a clean and accurate slate as a business rather than part of freelancing. Only a month ahead of schedule, it was time to see how well ScreenPlay has fared and discover the aftermath of 2015’s Bundle of Holding.
Let’s See Some Numbers
Yes, let’s start with that. Below are the sales/downloads for everything in the BRG catalogue from October 2015 to August 2016.
| Product | Total Sold | Gross Sales | Earnings |
| Killshot: The Director’s Cut | 36 | $259.21 | $140.08 |
| 25 | |||
| Hardcover B&W | 4 | ||
| Hardcover B&W + PDF | 7 | ||
| Killshot: An Assassin’s Journal | 6 | $10.17 | $5.95 |
| 6 | |||
| Softcover B&W | 0 | ||
| Killshot: Direction | 2 | $7.15 | $4.18 |
| 2 | |||
| Softcover B&W | 0 | ||
| Killshot Files #0 | 42 | $9.78 | $3.98 |
| PDF (Free) | 42 | ||
| Killshot Files #1 | 16 | $19.94 | $11.67 |
| 16 | |||
| Killshot Files #2 | 16 | $57.22 | $33.47 |
| 16 | |||
| ScreenPlay: The Rehearsal Edition | 645 | $0.00 | $0.00 |
| PDF (Free) | 645 | ||
| Ironbound | 444 | $64.46 | $37.72 |
| PWYW | 231 | ||
| Softcover POD | 5 | ||
| Blessed and the Damned | 208 | ||
| ScreenPlay: The Rehearsal Edition | 92 | $444.44 | $260.01 |
| 75 | |||
| Softcover POD | 5 | ||
| Softcover POD + PDF | 12 | ||
| Hardcover POD (playtesters exclusive) | 11 | ||
| TOTAL | 1315 | $872.37 | $497.06 |
Starting with highlights, the numbers for both ScreenPlay: The Rehearsal Edition (not including additional downloads during ENnies voting, which were provided on Google Drive instead of RPGNow – the original provider) and Ironbound are impressive. Those are loads of opportunities for people to discover ScreenPlay with little to zero cost (and risk). Did it translate into the desired number of ScreenPlay core book sales? No. Based on the initial launch, core book sales have dropped nearly 70% in August compared to May 2016. Even the Christmas In July sale did not improve sales. There are still sales taking place with 11 PDFs in August and a couple POD sales.
There was also no carry-over from the ENnies nomination. A couple hundred more downloads, yes, but there doesn’t appear to be any impact on core rulebook sales.
The true test will be the October release of Dial M for Monster (slated for layout this weekend). At the very least, it will make for a geiger counter of a specific concept over a universal system. And whether or not people like to play old drive-in movies for Hallowe’en as emphatically as they did in playtesting.
Overall sales were down 50% from the previous year. Killshot sales dropped significantly, down by more than 90% from 2014-15 and the main cause is the Bundle of Holding. Oh, how could you, sweetest moment of BRG’s short life. The BoH was an amazing opportunity and it was also a swan song for this edition of the game. At this point, it seems to be cooling down to a slow trickle… but this is after three years in the spotlight. For my first original design, this is truly amazing and I’m happy to report over 1,000 copies of Killshot: The Director’s Cut are resting on bookshelves and tablets all over the world.
Perhaps this means it is time to take another crack at Killshot Reloaded in the near future…
Um, Great Time to Start a Business, Huh?
It does seem like going +1 forward on BRG after a year like this may not have been the smartest move but it’s all skewed on one major factor: the Bundle of Holding. For a small indie publisher such as BRG, gaining access was fundamental to last year’s success. Yet such a thing cannot be expected as a regular feature. When I look at the total earnings BRG has accumulated in four years, 2015-16 was on par. 25% of its total earnings were made in the last 11 months and that means we held our heads above the water as the cruise ship took off without us. Thumbs up!
There’s also the price points between Killshot and ScreenPlay, with the latter priced at half that of its violent older brother. While ScreenPlay’s numbers were not what I hoped, those for Ironbound are very promising and I am considering a possible Ironbound sequel once it reaches 300 downloads.
Here’s what this teaches me. For the past four years, Broken Ruler Games has been a development studio with help from Mystical Throne Entertainment and operated on soft launches and zero marketing. Promoting, yes, but promoting is when you connect with an existing audience (Twitter followers, email subscribers) and marketing is reaching a population outside of that. Plus it’s only been available on OneBookShelf sites – that’s going to change. A lot is. It has been a learning experience these past four years and there’s a very good indication this could grow into something more, something with a bit more muscle going into the bigger picture. I’ve been having fun with BRG and creating games for people to play; now it’s time to take it seriously.
Are you ready?
Un-Broken Links
To read my personal blog post on turning BRG into a legit business (that sounds kind of mafia, doesn’t it?), click here.
You can read more about ScreenPlay, Ironbound and Killshot by clicking on them words.
Discover all about the Bundle of Holding and pick up some sweet bundle on their website.
Todd Crapper is the Owner/Lead Designer/Jack of All Trades for Broken Ruler Games. Basically, anything you see written with that blue target and snapped ruler on it was written by him. Including this. He’s writing about himself in the third person. Weirdo.
Broken Ruler Games 